Evening Links and Thoughts: Getting Back

Over the last week and a half I missed out on quite a bit of stuff so I felt tonight would be a good way to recap some things and give you all my opinion on each. We’ve had plenty of new players get signed this past week, including one Designated Player…which in Major League Soccer is always a big deal.

So where do I begin?

Pearce Lands In Dallas

Okay this one is kind of big since it is more local for me here in Dallas. I mentioned a while back that I thought Dallas should make a play for Heath Pearce though I honestly expected it to never happen. Dallas sat atop the Allocation order and looked to just never use the position to their advantage.

Now Dallas signs Pearce who failed to get a contract in Turkey or in Europe in general. Now it may be interesting to see where Pearce ends up in Schellas Hyndman’s roster but he will upgrade a defense that has been awful this season.

I love the defense that is being put together in Dallas though. Pearce along with recent signing of Daniel Hernandez and summer signing Jair Benitez. After failing to get a quality defense with guys like Steve Purdy (ugh) and Daniel Torres (yikes!), Hyndman may finally have a defense that is worth hyping up.

de Guzman (Finally) Signs As DP

First he turned down an offer from Toronto but now he comes back to it. Mo Johnston finally gets his man as Julian de Guzman signs with Toronto FC. He’s been one of the best Canadian players for years but is he really worth the move? He hasn’t played much at all this summer, except for Canada in the Gold Cup which puts loads of questions on his fitness level.

Signing a better defender would have made more sense for a defense that can’t stop anyone half the time. Still the signing is a big one since he is a DP. The DP signings are seemingly headed into a direction that I don’t believe MLS expected them to ever go to when the rule was first created. Its a direction that I am actually fine with. Clubs are signing quality players not for attendance bumps (which as we all know was why the rule was created deep down) but for guys that actually can and will help their team out. de Guzman fits that mold just as Luis Angel Landin does in Houston. It may not happen right away this season but next year we should see both as All-Stars.

Huckerby Out For Year With Hip Surgery

I know a thing or two about a bad hip. I dislocated my right hip playing the lovely game back in my playing days. Hip injuries are a bitch just like any other injuries. Darren Huckerby of the San Jose Earthquakes knows a thing or two about them now as he will undergo season ending surgery on his hip.

Huckerby never really saw any quality action this season for the Quakes which is one of the many reasons why the 2.0 version of the Quakes have spent all season at the bottom of the western standings.

After showing so much promise last year for the Quakes, one has to wonder if this injury will end Huckerby’s time with San Jose and MLS.

This news came down last week as well, but it looks like KC won’t be playing in their new stadium at that old mall site. Now it looks as though the project will switch over near the Kansas Speedway.

Look as long as this project finishes up it doesn’t matter where the stadium is located. This 18,000+ seat stadium will be fine for all Wizards fans and we even got a new rendering of the place, which continues to look very nice.

Good to see one club get it as far as youth club teams go in their system. The Chicago Fire have a youth team system that stretches all over the midwest. I’m all for MLS clubs expanding their base outside of their towns, it will only make the academy systems better in the long run. Hell is European clubs can do it, why not MLS clubs?

I’ve done lists like this before but just never got around to it this season. This list hits is right on the head because these are five very underpaid players in MLS right now. I can tell you at least two or three of them will get their dues this off season.

I still may do one of these lists, that or the lovely overpaid list that everyone seems to love.

New York has cut ties with defender Alfredo Pacheco as San Jose releases recent signing Fabio da Silva who signed back in August.

Pacheco was one of the wastes of money by New York under Juan Carlos Osorio and Jeff Agoos. Looks like the Red Bulls are clearing out as much garbage from the Osorio/Agoos era as possible right now. They’ve dumped so many bad signings like Pacheco already. I’m sure there are plenty more on the way like Jorge Rojas.

As for San Jose its weird to see a club quickly get rid of a guy like this but you do have to give them credit at least for not signing this guy for a long term deal that would hit them hard in the salary cap. Dropping Silva doesn’t hurt their cap space going forward but it does make folks question Frank Yallop and GM John Doyle that much more for signing someone then to only get rid of them a month later like this.